Diversity of herbaceous plant species in Yusmarg Kashmir-a tourist destination

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1 Diversity of herbaceous plant species in Yusmarg Kashmir-a tourist destination Asma Absar Bhatti, Shamsul Haq*, Shafat Ahmad Mir Division of Environmental Sciences, SKUAST-Kashmir ABSTRACT The present research was conducted at Yusmarg area- a tourist destination of Kashmir region, aimedto study the diversity of herbaceous plant and to study human impact to the herb community. The study was based on three study sites with markeddifferences in their physical and biotic features. During the study period, 41 herb speciesbelonging to 20 different families were observed.shanon-weaver diversity index showed small variation in all the three study sites. The results showed that there is lowgrazing pressure and moderate human impact on normal distribution of herb species whichmay cause reduction in herbaceous community in next few decades in the forest ecosystem. Keywords: Cynadon dactylon; Trifolium pretense; Polygonaceae;Herb; Shanon-Weaver index Yusmarg I INTRODUCTION Biodiversity encompasses the whole of the floristic, faunal and microbial diversity present on the earth (Dar and Farooq, 1997), which provides basis for the existence of life (Pandey, 1995).Unfortunately, this precious biological wealth has had been eroded to an alarming level by ruthless anthropogenic activities (Kushwah and Kumar, 2001). Vegetation is a key factor in determining the structure of an ecosystem. It determines many ecological parameters within a plant community such as microclimate, energy budget, photosynthesis, water regimes, surface runoff and soil temperature. The number of species reflectsthe gene pool and adaptation potential of the community (Odum, 1963). Quantitative analysis of vegetation helps in understanding the structure, composition and tropic organization of any community. Species composition and diversity vary from habitat to habitat within the communities exposing identical physiognomic characteristics (Nautiyal et al., 1999). Likewise, the life forms of species represent the adjustment of perennating organs and plant life history to environmental conditions (Nautiyal et al., 2000). It is an important characteristic in describing vegetation that offers a preliminary picture of the ecological character of the vegetation (Kershaw, 1973). Plant species diversity in the under storey strata is an important component in ecosystem functioning (Host and Register, 1991; Brakenhielm and Lui, 1998). In general, plant species diversity in the under storey is sensitive to ecosystem conditions (Pregitzer and Barnes, 1982; Mitchell et al., 1998) as well as to disturbance such as canopy removal (Duffy and Meier, 1992) and grazing (Hadar et al., 1999). The characterization of community response to any given disturbance, in terms of functional response types, appears to be a promising tool for analyzing the effects of disturbances on plant species diversity and community structure (Lavorel et al., 1999) P age

2 The forest floor vegetation plays an important role in nutrient cycling, habitat conservation and regeneration of tree shrubs. The herbaceous floor vegetation has been reported to show high nutrient content and rapid turnover rates as influenced by climatic conditions (Spain, 1984) and vegetation characteristics (Vogt and Vogt, 1986).The forest herbs, which play important role for rural communities for example, the livestock totally dependent on them for fodder and as traditional medicines, have been hardly studied from diversity standpoint (Singh andsingh, 1987). Plants enact as producers in the ecosystem functioning; therefore, the study of floristic diversity assumes much pre-eminence (Bilgrami, 1995). Kashmir Valley in our country harbours a rich repository of diverse flora due to its varied topography and spatial heterogeneity (Dar et al., 2001). II MATERIAL AND METHODS Three different sitesviz. site 1, site 2 and site 3 were selected for the study. Site 1 is 2,436 m above mean sea level and situated at N E. The site is dominated with coniferous tree species like Picea simthiana, Abies pindrow and Pinus waluchiana, while the dominant shrubs were Vibernum grangiflorum and Sumbucus wightiana. Site 2 is located 150m away from site 1 and situated at N E and 2,445 mabove mean sea level. The site is more slopy and rough in topography than Site 1. The coniferous tree species were not dense as compared to Site I. Herbaceous flora was more in diverse than Site I.Site 3is located 175m away from Site 2 along same side of forest and situated at N E and 2,400 m above mean sea level. The site is dominated by dense coniferous forests while herbaceous plant diversity was rich. The understorey herbaceous flora is dominated with species like Cynodon dactylon, Fragaria nubicola and VIOLA ODORATA. III SAMPLING AND COLLECTION During the first phase of the study periodic surveys were conducted and the Phytosociological analysis of herbaceous vegetation was carried out on the monthly basis. The plants were collected along with undeground portion with the help of trowel.in the Second Phase 0.5m X 0.2m (1m 2 ) Daubenmireframes or quadrats were laid randomly at 3 different sites. The third phase of methodology comprised the identification of the collected plant species from the study sites. The identification of plants was done in the Center of Plant Taxonomy, University Of Kashmir. Further diversity indices like Shannon-Weaver Index (Ĥ), Evenness Index (e) and Simpson s Index (c) were calculated by the following formulae: Shannon-Weaver Index (Ĥ)= - Σ[(n i /N)ln(n i /N)] Simpson s Index= Σ(n i/n ) 2 where = -Σ P i log P i n i = important value for each species 1784 P age

3 N = total of importance value Evenness Index = Ĥ ln S Fig.: GPS sampling points of the study area IV RESULT AND DISCUSSION A maximum of 41 herb species were recorded from the study sites during present investigation belonging to 20 families (Table 1). Polygonaceaewas represented by 5 species,followed byasteraceae and Lamiaceae4 species each,3 species were each from the families Poaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae and 2 species were each from the families Plantiganaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Oxiladaceae Boraginaceae and Primulaceaeand remaining 9 families were represented by one species each (Table 2). Asteraceae was the dominant family with 4 genera, followed by Poaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae with 3 genera each, Boraginaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Polygonaceae with 2 genera each and remaining 12 families were represented by single genus only(table 2).The dicots outnumbered the monocots at all the sites. 38 species were dicots belonging to 19 families and 3 species were monocots belonging to 1 family (Table 4). Out of total identified species 13 species were reported as perennials belonging to8 genera and 7 families whileas, 28 species were reported as annuals which belong to 26 genera and 16 families (Table 5) P age

4 Table 1: List of herbaceous plants with families recorded at three different sites S.No. Species Family 01 Anagallis arvensis Myrsinaceae 02 Astragalus sp Fabaceae 03 Cerastium cerastoides Caryophyllaceae 04 Chenopodium album Amaranthaceae 05 Cirsium falcornei Asteraceae 06 Convolvulus sp Convolvulaceae 07 Conyza Canadensis Asteraceae 08 Cynodon dactylon Poaceae 09 Cynoglossum sp Boraginaceae 10 Epilobium laxum Onagraceae 11 Fragaria nubicola Rosaceae 12 Geum sp Rosaceae 13 Lespedeza sp Fabaceae 14 Leucantemum vulgare Asteraceae 15 Lolium perenne Poaceae 16 Mentha sp Lamiaceae 17 Myosotis arvensis Boraginaceae 18 Nepeta Cataria Lamiaceae 19 Nepeta sp Lamiaceae 20 Oxalis acetosa Oxiladaceae 21 Oxalis corniculata Oxiladaceae 22 Plantago lanceolata Plantaginaceae 23 Plantago major Plantaginaceae 24 Polygonum hydropiper Polygonaceae 25 Poa sp Poaceae 26 Podophyllum hexandrum Berberidaceae 27 Potentilla sp Rosaceae 28 Primula denticulate Primulaceae 1786 Page

5 29 Primula sp Primulaceae 30 Ranunculus laetus Ranunculaceae 31 Rumex acetosa Polygonaceae 32 Rumex hastatus Polygonaceae 33 Rumex nepalensis Polygonaceae 34 Rumex patientia Polygonaceae 35 Salvia moorcroftiana Lamiaceae 36 Sambucus wightiana Adoxaceae 37 Stellaria media Caryophyllaceae 38 Taraxacum officinale Asteraceae 39 Trifolium pratense Fabaceae 40 Veronica beccabunga Scrophulariaceae 41 Viola Odorata Violaceae Table 2: List of herbaceous families with Species number and Genera recorded at three study sites S.No. Family No. of Genera No. of Species 01 Asteraceae Lamiaceae Rosaceae Poaceae Fabaceae Polygonaceae Caryophyllaceae Plantaginaceae Boraginaceae Primulaceae Oxiladaceae Ranunculaceae Amaranthaceae P age

6 14 Violaceae Myrsinaceae Onagraceae Convolvulaceae Adoxaceae Scrophulariaceae Berberidaceae 1 1 Table 3- List of Genera with Species number and family recorded from study area S.No. Genera No. of Species Family 01 Anagallis 1 Myrsinaceae 02 Astragalus 1 Fabaceae 03 Cerastium 1 Caryophyllaceae 04 Chenopodium 1 Amaranthaceae 05 Cirsium 1 Asteraceae 06 Convolvulus 1 Convolvulaceae 07 Conyza 1 Asteraceae 08 Cynodon 1 Poaceae 09 Cynoglossum 1 Boraginaceae 10 Epilobium 1 Onagraceae 11 Fragaria 1 Rosaceae 12 Geum 1 Rosaceae 13 Lespedeza 1 Fabaceae 14 Leucantemum 1 Asteraceae 15 Lolium 1 Poaceae 16 Mentha 1 Lamiaceae 17 Myosotis 1 Boraginaceae 18 Nepeta 2 Lamiaceae 19 Oxalis 2 Oxiladaceae 1788 P age

7 20 Plantago 2 Plantagaceae 21 Polygonum 1 Polygonaceae 22 Poa 1 Poaceae 23 Podophyllum 1 Berberidaceae 24 Potentilla 1 Rosaceae 25 Primula 2 Primulaceae 26 Ranunculus 1 Ranunculaceae 27 Rumex 4 Polygonaceae 28 Salvia 1 Lamiaceae 29 Sambucus 1 Adoxaceae 30 Stellaria 1 Caryophyllaceae 31 Taraxacum 1 Asteraceae 32 Trifolium 1 Fabaceae 33 Veronica 1 Scrophulariaceae 34 Viola 1 Violaceae Table 4 - Number of dicots and monocots recorded at different sites Plant Group Species Genera Families Dicotyledons Monocotyledons Total Table 5 - Number of annuals and perennials recorded at 3 different sites Life Form Species Genera Families Perennials Annuals P age

8 Table 6 - Diversity indices of the study area Sites Shanon-Weaver Index(Ĥ) EvennessIndex (E) Simpson Index (C) Site Site Site The research analysis of data revealed that a maximum of 41 herb species were recorded from the study sites belonging to 20 families. Polygonaceaewas represented by maximum species, followed byasteraceae and Lamiaceae. All the three sites were dominated by Cynodon dactylon. Each species of a community plays specific role and there is a definite quantitative relationship between abundant and rare species (Bhandari et al., 1997). The changes in topography, altitude, precipitation, temperature and soil conditions contribute to the diverse bioclimate that results in a mosaic of biotic communities at various spatial and organizational levels. Diversity represents the number of species, their relative abundance, composition, interaction among species and temporal and spatial variation in their properties. Where richness and evenness coincide, i.e., a high proportion of plant species in the vegetation are restricted, community of that area is supposed to have evolved through a long period of environmental stability. The observation in the present study showed that the site 3was more diverse in comparison to the site 1 and site 2. Asteraceae was the dominant family in terms of number of Genera. This may be because most of the species of the family are primary successionals and have different types of growth forms. This family showed basal as well as erect forms in which basal forms emerged near the ground-level with welldeveloped petioles and formed a short-umbrella (Mehrotra, 1998). They can tolerate cool temperatures to high irradiances with low density of herb cover. Moreover, basal forms of Violaceae showed affinity to mesic and cold conditions under the three Sites. Few species are able to tolerate the entire spectrum of environment and range throughout the gradient (Brown, 2001). The present study showed that perennials gained dominance over annuals at the three sites. Perennial have ability to conserve soil and with their extensive root systems of perennial grasses they also add more organic matter to the soil than annuals which can be more favourable for plant growth. Singh and Singh (1987) observed that annuals colonize and dominate the early stages of succession. Annuals to perennials species ratio are higher at primary successional site than climax stage. Species richness generally increases during secondary succession when environmental and edaphic conditions are favourable with low fluctuations Page

9 The dicots outnumbered the monocots at all the sites. It may be on account of fact that most of the monocots, especially grasses are surface feeders (Sharma and Upadhyaya, 2002). Structure of communities is the outcome of the habitat, environmental conditions and existing vegetation types (Malik et al., 2007). Human interaction moulds the shape and course of succession of a community. Amongst major factors that influence vegetation structure are human disturbance, extensive grazing, trampling and soil erosion (Grubb, 1987). V CONCLUSION The study concluded that Yusmarg has a rich herbaceous diversity bestowed with many diverse plant species. The herbaceous diversity of the study area represented by 41 plant species belonging to 34 Genera under 20 families.the area is predominately covered by herbaceous flora and being less represented in terms of number of species. Among dicotyledons, the Polygonaceae was the largest family comprising 5 species and for monocotyledons the Poaceae was found to be the only family with 3 plant species. Polygonaceae was the largest family registered with 5 plant species followed by Asteraceae and Lamiaceae with 4 plant species each. Out of 20 families 9 families were represented by single species, that is, they are monotypic. Furthermore, Cynodon dactylonemerged as dominant species of the ecosystem. VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author is highly thankful to his beloved guardian Mr. Abdur Rashid Hazari (IFS), Conservator of Forests, J & K who supported and encouraged me during the study. I convey my sincere gratitude to him and dedicate all my success to him. REFERENCES 1. Bhandari, B. S., Mehta, J. P., Nautiyal, B. P. and Tiwari, S. C Structure of a Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg) community along an altitudinal gradient in Garhwal Himalayas. Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci23: Bilgrami, K. S Concept and Conservation of Biodiversity. Pp. 18. in Pandey, A.K (ed). Taxanomy and Biodiversity, CBS Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. 3. Brakenhielm, S. and Lui, Q Long term effects of clear felling on vegetation dynamics and species diversity in boreal pine forest. Biol. Conserv7: Brown J Mammals on mountainsides: elevational patterns of diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography10(1): Dar, G. H., Bhagat, R. C. and Khan, M. A Biodiversity of Kashmir Himalaya. Valley Book House, Srinagar, India P age

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